The Unexpected Journey
by BellaSarah
Summary: Nick and Andy face the unexpected during their six month op. A series of one shots about their days undercover. Andy/Nick shippy goodness.
1. Chapter 1

**So I've always been a Sam/Andy shipper but as I've rewatched S3 and the new episodes this season, I can't help but be disappointed by Sam's actions. The idea of Nick and Andy is really growing on me and I can't wait to see where the writers take it. In the meantime, I find myself wondering what they did together for six months with no one else to depend on. I thought that I'd explore that in a series of one shots and I hope those of you who don't mind the Nick/Andy ship will indulge me!**

**Disclaimer: Duh, not mine**

**Love At First Sight**

"Andy, I'm soooo glad you decided to come with us!" the short blonde said with a giggle as she twined her arm through Andy's. "This is what summers on the beach are all about! Wait til you meet the new guy! He's super cute!"

Megan had started speaking with exclamation points about two beers ago and Andy desperately wished she hadn't turned the last one down. She wanted to be clear headed. Tonight was imperative to Operation Dakota. It would be the first time she and Nick would meet publicly and establish themselves as a couple.

Andy didn't want to examine the butterflies dancing in her stomach. It would be easy to blame them on the op but she knew it wasn't true. She was going to spend the rest of the night bumping and grinding with Nick.

Drinking with Nick.

Kissing Nick. The thought sent hot goose bumps chasing across her skin.

She and Nick had gotten close over the last six weeks as he established himself in the ring. They studied the material provided to them, talked strategy, worked on establishing their individual covers. All culminating in this one very important party that would allow them to act more aggressively to produce the results their handlers were expecting.

"Baby!" Megan squealed, throwing her arms around an unremarkable guy with sandy brown hair. "This is Andy, the new girl I've been telling you about. She's my new BFF! Andy, this is PJ! And this stud muffin is Nick!"

Andy slid her eyes up to Nick's laughing dark gaze. She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. The bastard was enjoying her discomfort. And she had to admit that he did look appealing in his baggy shorts and t-shirt that pulled across his chest which had only gotten more defined with the extra gym time over the last few weeks. He even managed to pull off the flip flops look, which she hated. Damn him.

"Andy, pleasure," he said with a smile. "You look like you could use a drink."

"I definitely could," she agreed.

"Let's see what we can find." He took her hand as they made their way through the crowd. He pulled her over to a table covered in liquor bottles and surrounded by coolers. He pulled her into his side and leaned down so she could hear him over the music. "Anything you want, liquor, beer, jello shots. We got it all."

"Uhhh, I don't know. A beer, I guess."

"You need a shot. I can see it on your face," he said with a laugh, pushing a couple green jello shots toward her. He held up his own little plastic cup. "Slainte."

"Oh God," she said with a shudder.

"Come on, wuss. Do the other one. Down the hatch! You'll thank me later."

"Or I'll puke on you later," she quipped before sucking down the other. "Arrrgh, obligatory jello shots done. Beer, please."

Nick plunged his hand into a cooler and pulled out two brown bottles. He twisted the top off one and handed it to her before opening his own. He pointed to the people crowded around the pool pulsating with the music.

"Dance?" he shouted. She gave him a thumbs up sign and moved toward the crowd. His cold hand on the bare skin of her back above her shorts made her squeal and punch him. He laughed good naturedly. "Nice shirt."

"Have it on good authority that it's a perfect choice for a beach front party," she teased. She'd agonized over what to wear for twenty minutes before Nick picked out her outfit—white shorts and a deep blue green flowy tank top that left most of her back bare where the fabric crossed. She took his hand and pushed through the crowd until she found a space big enough for them to dance.

Nick was a handsy dancer. Sometimes his hand strayed to her waist or her back if they were pushed together by the crowd. It was one of the things that she'd always liked best about him. He never took himself too seriously and didn't get self conscious in a crowd. He didn't mind making a fool of himself on the dance floor, although he was truthfully a decent dancer.

He pulled her into his personal space so their bodies brushed. The heady combination of his body heat, the hint of his cologne, and the shots left her a little light headed. She relaxed into her role, resigned to the fact that eventually she'd have to make out with him and suddenly that didn't seem too hard to imagine. They had talked about practicing but neither of them could bring themselves to do it, afraid it would ruin their friendship yet knowing it would have to happen at some point.

She watched his dark eyes watching hers as they moved together with the music. She'd never seen that look on his face and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Hunger? Desire? Whatever it was, it was doing crazy things to her pulse, and she met him halfway without hesitation when his mouth captured hers. He took her face in his hands, angling her head for better access as he deepened the kiss.

His touch was electric as desire exploded through her. She knotted her hand in his tshirt, pulling him closer. It was possessive, hot, mind boggling. Every awareness left her except for her and Nick. She never expected it to be like this.

"Get a room," someone shouted. They broke apart and Nick gave her a wolfish grin. He grabbed her hand and practically dragged her away from the crowd and onto the beach.

"Nick, wha…," she started before he rounded on her and kissed her once again. His hands slid through the folds of her shirt and pressed against her bare back, his fingernails raking over her spine. She gasped at the sensation and arched into him. His arms wrapped around her roughly as he pulled her even closer. She wasn't sure how long they stood on the beach, yards from the party, devouring each other but when they broke apart, they were both panting.

"Fuck," Nick muttered, gently pushing her away and turning to face the water.

"Nick, I…."

"Just give me a minute, Andy," he managed, his voice gravelly. She pressed her fingertips to her tingling lips as she watched him try to compose himself. She finally moved to his side so they stood shoulder to shoulder staring at the surf.

"What was that?" he asked finally.

"Vodka jello shots?" she quipped. He huffed out a laugh and shot her a glance.

"That definitely had nothing to do with alcohol."

"No, it didn't," she agreed softly. It, whatever IT was, was unexpected and a bit terrifying.

"Well, at least it wasn't difficult to sell. Pretty sure everyone will buy into you being my new girlfriend."

"True story."

"Love at first sight."


	2. Catch Me

**Thank you for all the faves, follows, and reviews. I'm glad there are other Nick/Andy shippers out there! Sorry this one is kind of short but it popped into my head during my own run yesterday. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see show up in a one shot.**

**Catch Me **

"Nick, it's going to rain! We're not running."

"We are running, Andy. Get your butt in gear."

"I hate you."

"No you don't, you love me. Shoes on, woman."

With a huff, Andy pulled on her shoes. She glared at him as she twisted her hair up and secured it. He tweaked her nose and she swatted his hand away. His laughter washed over her as he led the way through the narrow hallway. They walked through the soft sand, Andy bitching good naturedly about getting sand in her shoes the whole way. When they hit the packed sand nearer to the surf, Nick set the pace. Andy was athletic anyway and her cardio had only improved during the weeks she'd spent with Nick running on the beach. She kept up with him easily enough.

"I hate running without music. This is torture. You know that, right?" she panted. He shot her a grin and she rolled her eyes.

"This is good for you. Let's you hear your own thoughts."

"Really, really don't want to hear my thoughts right now," she muttered.

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"I can sing cadence for you."

"God, no."

"Fired up. Feeling good. Motivated. Dedicated," he started to sing at the top of his lungs. Andy dodged into him with her shoulder, causing them to bounce off each other in laughter.

"I swear, if I had a penny for every time you talked about the military, I'd be rich."

"Hey, man, once a soldier…."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard this," she said rolling her eyes.

"And it never gets old. Let's turn back," he retorted, eyeing the clouds.

"Told ya."

"Whatever, wuss. We can make it."

"We're about to get soaked."

"Pessimist."

"No, I'm a realist."

A fat raindrop fell right in the middle of Nick's forehead causing him to jerk. Andy started to laugh so hard that she had to stop. She doubled over in a fit of giggles, panting to catch her breath.

"How was that funny?"

"You jerked like you'd been shot!"

"It was cold and…and wet!"

"Now who's the wuss, wuss?" Thunder crashed overhead, causing Andy to jump and yelp. It was Nick's turn to laugh. "Ass."

"I love when you pet name me, shnooks."

"Bite me."

"Mark the spot, babe," he said with laughter dancing in his eyes. The sky rumbled once more before the heavens opened up and torrents of rain began to fall.

"Oh my gaaaw, it's cold! I'm going to KILL you!"

"You have to catch me first!"


	3. Fresh Paint

**I'm so excited for tonight's show! And can I just say that I love all the McCollins shippers coming out of the woodwork. I knew you were out there!**

**Hey, hmarieh, I hope you see this—I do have a current piece I'm working on for them called The Andy Diaries but I haven't published anything yet. I'm sort of basing it on the episodes as they come, so I'm waiting to see what the latest episode brings us.**

…**.**

**Fresh Paint**

Andy became conscious of her aching body before she ever opened her eyes and it wasn't just because of a restless night on the ugly green couch she called a bed half the week. Her burning throat, the shivering, and the screaming pain behind her eyes indicated she was well on her way to sick.

"Nick."

She muttered his name as a curse, wincing. He'd made her run in the stupid rain the other day and now she had probably caught pneumonia and was going to die. She worked her way to her feet in stages, teeth chattering. She shuffled into the bedroom praying that Nick didn't shoot her for sneaking up on him as he slept. The room was dark and she moved fairly easily past indistinguishable blobs toward the bed. She tripped over one of his running shoes and stumbled into the foot of the bed, cursing when her shins hit the frame.

"Shit!"

"Andy?" Nick's voice was overly loud in the quiet.

"It's me," she croaked, crawling into the bed from where she stood. They were a tangle of limbs and knees for a moment until he scooted to one side.

"What are you doing? Are you okay?" She could hear the groggy confusion making his voice huskier than normal.

"No, I'm not, jerkface," she retorted. "You made me run in the rain and now I'm freezing and I probably have the plague and I'll be dead by morning and I hate you."

"Shit, that's a lot to process right now." She felt his arm move next to her and heard his hand rasp on his scruffy cheek as he rubbed his hand over his face. He rolled over on his side to face her. "What is that noise? Are your teeth chattering?!"

"Yes," she whined, burrowing into him, seeking his body heat. She felt him stiffen for a moment but she didn't care.

"You're burning up."

"See? Plague," she muttered as he flipped the blanket covering him over her. He reached across her and pulled the other side up over her like her grandmother had done when she was a child.

"I highly doubt it's the plague," he said with a chuckle, rubbing his hands up and down her back in an attempt to stave off her shivers.

"It could be the plague. You don't know."

"I never would have guessed."

"Guessed what?"

"Andy Mcnally is a whiny sick person. Who knew?"

"Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Blow me."

"Not nice."

She snuggled further into his arms with a soft sigh as her body began to warm and relax.

…..

Nick awoke with an armful of Andy. His knee rested on her cocooned legs, her head tucked under his chin. Even wrapped up like a burrito in the bed cover she fit nicely against him. He swallowed hard, realizing that he was very likely in trouble.

He loved Gail, he really did. But he had to work at loving her and he felt like he had to work for her affection in return. Was that really how it should be? Shouldn't it be easy? Natural? There was nothing more natural than his friendship with Andy. She had never made him feel like an outsider, not even in the beginning. Their friendship had solidified quickly with their partnerships on shift and had only grown deeper as they worked undercover.

Andy made him laugh, really laugh, and he was beginning to understand that his affection for her was different than what he had for Gail. Gail was familiar, comfortable. He appreciated her prickliness and the softer side she didn't share with anyone. But what used to excite him about her when they first started dating in their early twenties was her toughness. He'd wanted to crack that and he had, in stages, but he never felt like her really just got Gail and he no longer felt like he needed a conquest. He didn't need to prove that he could get the tough, pretty girl. He knew her and appreciated her for who she was and of course he loved her. But was it a romantic love? He just didn't know any more.

He'd always thought Andy was beautiful. Who didn't? Most of the guys in the division were half in love with her. She was tough, fearless, a good cop, and genuinely nice. They meshed well. She wasn't afraid to be vulnerable with him and she was unflappable. He could harass her and she gave it right back to him. No anger, no hurt feelings. There was no pretense there. How could he not admire her? Not want to be around her? The more time he spent with her, the more time he WANTED to spend with her. He wanted to learn the nuances of what made her tick. His world was shifting and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

What he knew for sure is that he had to get up. It was way too comfortable to have her in his arms. He didn't even mind the drool on his chest or her not so ladylike snoring. He gently shifted her so that he could free his arm and slid out of bed. He'd go get them breakfast and find a drug store. Maybe the walk would do him good and give him time to clear his head.

…

When Andy woke up, Nick was gone. She felt like hammered hell and was disappointed that he wasn't there to take care of her. She looked for a note telling her he had to "work" but she didn't find one. Mumbling, she decided that she'd give herself a much needed pedicure. She hated sitting around long enough to let the polish dry but since she was sick, she didn't feel like moving much anyway. She was carefully painting the toes on her second foot when Nick came in.

"I thought you ran away," she quipped, her voice froggy. He shot her a sympathetic look.

"Ouch. I got us some breakfast and you some plague fighters," he said with a grin, holding up a plastic bag.

"There's no cure for plague. It's certain death and it's all on you."

"Oh my God, you're dramatic. You feel well enough to paint your toes."

"Had to do something, you abandoned me." A wicked smile spread across her face as an idea came to her. "I feel well enough to paint your toes too."

"No."

"Come on, Nick."

"Nope. Not happening."

"But it would make me feel better and you DID make me sick, so you totally owe me. Besides, aren't you the guy who said you weren't too cool for anything? Pleeeeease," she said, giving him her best puppy dog look.

"Argh, not the look. You're not allowed to use that on me!"

"Please, Nick? I'll be your best friend."

"You're already my best friend, dork."

"It'll make my whole day."

"Shit," he said with a groan, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Yay!" She scooted to the end of the couch so he could sit and put his feet in her lap.

"You tell anyone about this and I'll call you a dirty liar," he said.

"Oh, whatever," she said, carefully spreading hot pink polish on his nails.

He watched, amused, as she giggled and painted. He looked like an idiot but it was totally worth it to see her haggard face light up with delight and to hear her raspy laughter. When she was done, she sat back and admired her work with a sniff.

"Even I can smell that," she commented.

"What's that?"

"Fresh paint."


	4. Toast

**Well the last two episodes have been good for my little McCollins shippin heart. I wish we could see how exactly Andy got the eggs at the end of Poison Pill—were they left overs or did Nick make her fresh? And did he contact his BFF/Breakup Buddy at the end of Skeletons? So many oneshots floating around in my little brain right now! **

**Thank you all so much for the words of encouragement. Your reviews make my whole day.**

**Also, I realized that toastiegirl's fiction was titled the same, so I tweaked mine a bit. Sorry about that!**

…**..**

**Toast**

"What exactly are you doing?" Nick asked, padding into the kitchen bleary eyed.

"Morning, sunshine!"

Andy was a morning person and usually Nick was too but after a night of drinking, her cheery smile blasting him in the face was a little much. He scowled.

"Seriously. What are you doing?"

"Making my grumpy 'boyfriend' coffee and some of Andy's famous peanut butter toast," she said, dancing over to him, mug of steaming brew in hand.

"No. No more toast," he said adamantly, taking the cup.

"But…"

"No, Andy. We've lived on peanut butter toast and bananas for days."

"But it's a solid breakfast—carbs, protein, fruit…"

"NO."

She stopped and made a face at him.

"You are not very sweet today."

"Probably because I drank half of Fort Erie last night," he groaned.

"All the more reason for toast. Soak up the rest of that alcohol swishing around in there."

"Ugh, stop. I'll cook something. Just no toast."

"We don't have anything, Nick. It's shopping day, remember?" Andy asked, opening the door to the fridge and peering in. Nick ran his hand down his face and leaned against the counter as she rooted around.

"I can come up with something, what's in there?"

"Uh, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs, sandwich meat, and something with a beard."

"Okay, throw the beard out cuz gross and I'll take the rest." He rolled his eyes as she chunked the unidentifiable funk across the kitchen basketball style and threw her arms up when she hit the trash can.

"And THAT'S why I'm awesome," she tossed over her shoulder before pulling the other items out.

Nick just shook his head and pulled out a cutting board and knife. They fell into an easy routine, her washing the produce as he sliced and diced. She sang loudly to the clock radio sitting on the baker's rack that they used as an alarm. He wasn't certain if she was trying to torture his splitting head, but she was definitely doing a good job of it. He hadn't realized she had a sadistic side.

For all her sassiness, she cleaned up after him while he worked two pans, grilling the veggies in one and starting the eggs in another. She pressed headache medicine into his hand and sat an opened Gatorade bottle down next to him. He gratefully downed the pills and chugged half the red drink before he continued to cook. She set the table prettily. It always surprised him when her girly side came out. Andy could be so tough; sometimes her feminine side caught him off guard like a shot to the solar plexus.

"Can you grab a plate, babe?" he asked, the endearment slipping out before he could bite it back. She didn't even seem to notice as she sock slid her way over to him. "You're going to bust your ass doing that at some point."

"Prolly. And you'll laugh at me like an idiot. It'll be fine. Just make sure I get stitches if I need em."

He shook his head, flipping her omelet onto her plate. She sniffed deeply and appreciatively.

"Smells yummy." She dumped what was left of the orange juice into their glasses and sat down.

"Don't wait for me, eat while it's hot," Nick said, working on his own. She cut into hers and he heard her moan. "Good?"

"Oh my God, Nick, this is amazing!"

"Really?"

"Yes. Wow. Breakfast is your responsibility for the rest of our time here."

"Deal."

He scooted into his seat and raised a brow at her. She had pretty much hoovered her meal.

"What?" she asked, mouth full.

"Nothing," he said, amused. He took a bite and groaned as well. "Oh my God."

"See? You thought I was just being polite. It's really good."

"I really did." She stood to clear her plate. "It is amazing."

"You're amazing," she said, affectionately, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and kissing his cheek. "Thank you for breakfast."

He swallowed hard, taking another completely different shot to the solar plexus. He was so toast.


End file.
